Cathy birch awaken the writer within

List of illustrations vii Preface ix 1 Writing - A Way of Life 1 Writing is a physical activity 1 Writing and your lifestyle 14 Your writers' tool kit 22 Writing and your identity 24 2 T

AWAKEN THE WRITER WITHIN

Ideas for Children's Writers

A comprehensive resource book of plots, themes, genres, lists,

what's hot and what's not

An invaluable resource book with lists of attributes, plots, themes, genres, and locations, and advice on how much description to use

Write and Sell Your Novel

The beginner's guide to writing for publication

'An excellent introduction for the new novelist.' — Writing Magazine

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List of illustrations vii Preface ix

1 Writing - A Way of Life 1

Writing is a physical activity 1 Writing and your lifestyle 14 Your writers' tool kit 22 Writing and your identity 24

2 Tune In 26

To yourself 26

To another person 37 Using the techniques you have learned 37

To your characters 38

To an object 45

To settings 46

To a situation 47

3 Discover the Plot 50

Whose story is it anyway? 50 Invent an audience 56 Play all the parts 58 Let fate take a hand 59 Work with astrology 67

4 Develop Atmosphere, Pace and Mood 72

Create an atmosphere 74 Set the pace 79 Get into a mood 85

5 Work With Beginnings and Endings 90

Start with a bang 90 Round things off 95 Fill in the middle 98 Try different routes 99

6 Surprise Yourself 102

Work in depth 102 Play with words and images 110

7 Work With Your Dreams 117

A different world 117 Using dream experiences 119 Work with dream images 122 Aware dreaming 127

8 Recycle 131

Give old characters a makeover 131 Give old settings a facelift 134 New plots from old 135 New text from old 144

9 Craft Your Work 148

Weave your material 149 Shape your plot 150 Fine-tune your characters 161 Fine-tune your dialogue 162 Invent a purpose 163 Focus on style and clarity 163

10 Edit Your Work 166

Appreciate your left brain 166 Befriend your critic 168 Play the editing game 172 The end- no, really 177

Glossary 179 References 183 Further reading 187 Useful addresses and websites 189 Index 193

List of Illustrations

1 'Chunked' notes from a story-telling workshop 13

2 Word web 31

3 Word honeycomb 35

4 10x10: Red Riding Hood 41

5 Flying Bird tarot spread 64

6 Narrative tree 143

7 Story board for Little Red Riding Hood 155

8 Pictorial score adapted to storymaking 156

9 Red Riding Hood flow chart 158

vii

'The main struggle people have with creativity is that they stopthemselves from doing what comes naturally.'

(Clarissa Pinkola Estes: The Creative Fire)

You know the feeling You have an idea that just might work It begins

to take shape in your mind Excitement grows You pick up your pen

or sit down at your keyboard and you freeze Or you begin, and hourslater you are still re-writing the same few sentences and the energy hasgone Why? Could it be fear of 'getting it wrong'? Remember howfreely you created as a child; how you sang, danced, painted, createdamazing stories and fantasy worlds to play in with your friends - allfor sheer enjoyment, with no anxieties about being 'good enough'.Close your eyes for a moment and remember how your creativityflowed

If you long to write with that sense of spontaneity you had in hood, this is the book for you Its wide variety of exercises andvisualisation techniques will enable you to explore the treasures ofyour subconscious, revisit your childhood world of games and make-believe and bring back what you find Its practical advice on all aspects

child-of the writing process will enable you to share these experiences withothers through your work

This book will help you at every stage Its aim is to get you writing,keep you writing, and enable you to enjoy your work to the full Use it

to rediscover your love of words, find your voice and become the writeryou were meant to be

Cathy Birch

ix

ix

Writing - A Way of life

This book is designed to stimulate and sustain your creative flow

It will help you through those difficult patches when inspirationseems to have deserted you, and the whole process feels like

horribly hard work It will help you celebrate and utilise to thefull those exciting times when your creativity seems to take on alife of its own and you feel as though you are running to keep upwith it It will enable you to tap into that inner wealth you mayhave forgotten you had If you can just remember to have thisbook to hand and turn to it when needed, you need never bestuck again

First, the more practical matters This opening chapter looks athow our work habits can be improved in order to free and maintainthat natural creative flow Management of our time and our

resources — including that most important of writers' tools, thehuman body - is considered as part of this process Antidotes aresuggested for some of the unnatural mental and physical practices

we impose on ourselves in order to write If you feel tempted toskip this section in order to get down to writing straight away, thenplease remember to return to it later This is very important Manywriters have found solutions to long-standing problems by takingsome of the simple steps suggested here

WRITING IS A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

A writer is like an athlete; a competitor or skilled performer in

physical exercises, to quote the Concise Oxford Dictionary.

1

1

Because we spend so many hours seated at our desks, it is easy toforget this - until our body protests Our neck shoulders and headache, our eyes refuse to focus, our wrists succumb to repetitivestrain syndrome, and then we remember that our mind operatesthrough a physical organ in a physical body with needs of its own.

These aspects of a writer's physical make-up need particularattention:

the brain

the eyes

digestion

joints, muscles, heart and lungs

Keep your brain alert

Like all our bodily organs our brain needs nourishment, a richblood supply, plenty of oxygen and adequate rest in order tofunction well Hours of sitting hunched in a stuffy room, skippingmeals or eating junk food will put it at a disadvantage

The simple acts of opening a window, circling your arms andbreathing deeply will boost mental processes tremendously If youfind it hard to remember to do these things, write a note to

yourself and place it where it will catch your eye from time to time

Brain food

Our brains thrive on foods rich in iron, phosphorous and the Bvitamins (particularly B6, which is said to help with 'writer'sblock') Liver, fish, pulses, grains, wholemeal bread and greenvegetables are all excellent writers' foods My current favourite'boosts' are extract of malt, or thick wholemeal toast with tahini,banana and honey Oh no? OK - what's yours?

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

Brain fatigue

We need rest, not only to combat tiredness but to enable the body

to replenish its cells - which, of course, include our brain cells.For this reason, burning the midnight oil (a common symptom of'writing fever') may reduce our mental and physical efficiency overtime - something we may find it all to easy to forget or ignore.Many writers have found it beneficial to replace their late nightwriting habit with an early morning start when the world is just asquiet and their brain is rested

Efficiency is also improved by a regular change of task - on

average, every hour and a half (See glossary: Circadian rhythms).

Use a timer with an audible signal as a reminder to take regularbreaks Ideally, leave the work room and do something physical.Have a list of suggested activities to hand - anything from ashort-duration household task to a brisk walk around the block.Physical movement will invigorate your body Also it can, in itself,

trigger a flow of words and ideas (see Use physical activity to

stimulate your creativity below).

Brain waves

Your list could include some of the audio-visual products whichuse pulses of light and/or sound to alter brainwave patterns A 15-minute session with one of these can calm an agitated brain, orrevitalise a flagging one

Highly recommended are the products available from LifeTools, and the light and sound machines from Photosonix and Novapro (see Useful addresses).

Further information can be found via the Internet (see Personal

Growth products and websites) NB Pulsing lights should not be used

by people suffering from epilepsy.

3

Further suggestions for activity breaks appear in the sectionswhich follow.

remedies for this condition (Also see all writers below.)

Such exposure can leave eyes deficient in Vitamins A and B2, so

supplements of these vitamins are advisable Vitamins C and Ealso promote eye health

Alleviate eye and neck strain by having the monitor exactly at level If necessary, place some blocks underneath it to achieve this.Positioning your feet at the correct height is also important.Ideally both the knee and the ankle joints should be relaxed andshould form right-angles

eye-W R I T I N G - A eye-W A Y O F L I F E

All writers

Most methods of getting words onto paper involve your eyes inlong periods of repetitive activity They will function better if youtake regular time out to exercise them Add this 'eye-gymnastics'routine to your activities list It need only take a minute once youhave mastered it

Hold an upright pencil about 10 cms from the bridge of yournose Focus on something distant, then focus on the pencil.Repeat several times

Move the pencil up, down, from side to side and make slowcircles with it Follow these movements with your eyes Repeatseveral times

Without the pencil, repeat the above movements several timesvery slowly

Finally, rub your palms together briskly, then cup them overyour eyes

Cold tea-bags, cucumber slices or diluted lavender oil on a dampcloth are all very soothing when laid on closed eyelids You canalso bathe your eyes with a cooled herbal infusion of eye-brightand camomile (as advised for PC users)

Eat well

A tight schedule might tempt you to skip meals, eat junk food, oreat absent-mindedly while still writing These are false economieswhich you will pay for in brain and body fatigue - and probablydigestive disorders, later Keeping going with stimulants such asalcohol, coffee and tobacco will also have a punishing and

detrimental effect on your system

5

You owe yourself proper meal breaks - relaxing times spent away

from your desk, rewarding mind and body for the hard work they

have done How would you feel about a boss who insisted youwork through your lunch hour? Don't do it to yourself!

Exercise your joints, muscles, heart and lungs

How would you feel if ordered to sit in one spot for several hoursmoving only your fingers? Writers regularly submit their bodies tosuch torture The long-term results will be stiff joints, atrophiedmuscles and a variety of other ills which could adversely affectyour life - not to mention your creative output

To redress the balance, add a choice of physical work-outs to yourbreak-time activities list Work with a yoga or pilates video forexample, to ensure that your whole body is exercised and

flexibility and strength are maintained You also need an aerobicactivity, to exercise heart and lungs and send blood and oxygen toall vital organs, including the brain Jog, cycle, walk your dogs,dance to Gabrielle Roth, work out with Jane Fonda - whateveryou enjoy the most

Tae Bo is a particularly good work-out for writers as it

thoroughly exercises the heart, lungs, arms and upper body andbrings an invigorating flow of blood to the brain

The need for desk workers to take regular exercise breaks haslong been realised by companies such as RSIGuard, WorkPace,and PrimeMover, who have produced software which interruptsyour computer use at chosen intervals and takes you through awork-out, including eye exercises The websites of such companiesare well worth a visit and many offer 30-day free trials of theirsoftware Despite my initial irritation at being interrupted every

Use physical activity to stimulate your creativity

As mentioned earlier, physical activity can often release a flow ofwords and ideas This could be connected with our early

development, as we learn to use the rest of our bodies before wespeak I saw a striking example of this effect while working on alanguage-skills programme for children with special needs Thegroup included an extremely withdrawn eight-year old boy whohad been silent throughout his three years at school Havingmarched round the hall to music, the children wanted to 'march'lying down As they did so, the boy in question began moving hisarms and legs faster and faster against the floor Suddenly outcame a torrent of speech, which increased in speed and volumeuntil he was shouting whole sentences Somehow that particularsequence of movements had triggered his speech processes

Using physical triggers to stimulate the thought processes

Practitioners of therapies like Gestalt and Bioenergetics utilisesuch physical triggers as enabling mechanisms Writers can do thesame Crawling, kicking, jumping, punching cushions - 'marching

7

lying down', can all help words to come Close the curtains andtry it - what can you lose!

Writers use a variety of physical triggers to get the creative juicesflowing Veteran sci-fi author Ray Bradbury used to swim

Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, would walk or skate Poet andauthor Diana Gittins leaps into a boat and rows Comedy writerPeter Vincent 'gets up from his desk every hour or so to do yoga.'('Or eat a biscuit,' he adds after some reflection.)

Like many writers, Peter finds that when ideas start flowing hestrides about consuming large quantities of food He also

experiences a strong link between his creative process and hisphysical well-being He can suffer indigestion and abdominal painfor no apparent reason, make an alteration to the script he isworking on and immediately feel fine again - literally a gutreaction

Checklist

How does writing affect your body/behaviour?

What physical activities help you to think better?

Value your health and treat your body well It is the vehicle ofyour talent

Flex your writing muscles

'Get in action,' Natalie Goldberg advises Work it out actively.Pen on paper Otherwise all your thoughts are dreams They

go nowhere Let the story move through your hand rather thanyour head.'

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

If writing is your main occupation, you probably write daily fromnecessity If not it is good to keep the 'writing muscles' flexed inthis way With any discipline, leaving it for a day can lead toseveral days and so on - until suddenly weeks have passed andyou are horribly out of practice If the discipline in question is animportant part of your life, you can also find yourself horribly'out of sorts' if you don't pursue it Writing is no different in thisrespect You must maintain the momentum for progress to bemade and - if writing is your passion - for well-being to be

maintained

Find the time

When we work from the creative rather than the logical mind, theprocess cannot be rushed To derive maximum benefit from theexercises in this book, you need to allow enough time for theexperiences to unfold

However, if you find yourself juggling a heap of responsibilitiesand wondering how you can possibly clear a space for writing, ashort regular slot each day is a good compromise solution Even ifyou can only manage ten minutes, at the end of the week you willhave 70 minutes-worth of writing under your belt While notideal, it keeps you writing In fact a novel per year can be

produced in this way

CASE STUDY

Karen, one of my students, set herself that very task She has two young children and works part-time as a computer programmer As a teenager, she wrote short stories and poetry For years she had been trying to find time to

do this again, but somehow it had never happened After discussing this in class she agreed that ten minutes a day would be considerably better than nothing She decided to spend ten minutes of each lunch-break writing (in her

9

car to make sure she was not disturbed) She used an old A4 diary for the purpose and filled a page each day By the end of six months she written over 80,000 words, which she is currently crafting into a very promising novel.

Go for it

One of the problems with only having ten minutes, is that it cantake that long just to start thinking The answer - don't think Setyourself a time of ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour - whateveryou have available, and just write Get in action Keep your handmoving Whatever comes; no thinking, crossing out, rewriting -

just do it Stick to the allotted time - no more, no less A timer

with an audible signal focuses the mind wonderfully Some of whatyou write may be rubbish - fine! When you give yourself

permission not to be perfect, things start to happen You can findyourself swept up in the joy of what writer Chris Baty (founder ofNational Novel Writing Month) has termed 'Exuberant

Imperfection' At the end of the week look back and highlight thethings you might be able to use

Another excellent way of both flexing your writing muscles andfocusing the mind is to set yourself the task of writing a completestory in - say - 100 words; no more, no less There is currently a

group on the BBC Get Writing Website (see Appendix) dedicated

to writing 60-word fiction I have found this a good once-a-week

substitute for my daily timed writing Chris Baty's Write a Novel

in a Month idea, and Nick Daws' Write Any Book in 28 Days are

greatly expanded versions of this go-for-it approach

Get started

Write: 'I remember when ' or 'I don't remember when ' 'Iwant to tell you about ' 'I don't want to tell you about ' 'Ihave to smile whenever I '

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

Write about a colour, a taste, a smell, an emotion Write about afavourite outfit, an embarrassing experience, a holiday disaster, abeloved pet, a dream Write about what it feels like to have noideas

Write: 'If I were a piece of music I would be ' or 'The woman

on the bus made me think of ' or 'The meal I would choose as

my last would be '

Open a book or turn on the radio and start with the first sentenceyou see/hear If you get stuck, write your first sentence again andcarry on

If you would like to try a more technological approach,

writesparks.com offers a quick-start generator which is fun to use,and particularly suited to timed writing It even provides a spaceand a timer if you want to time-write on your PC rather than byhand Also try writingbliss.com which, among a huge variety ofwriting activities, offers to e-mail you a daily writing task - forfree!

If you want to apply timed writing to a larger project - say,completing the first draft of a novel, software available fromWriteQuickly.com 'guarantees a book in under 28 days, workingfor one hour per day' Nick Daws' CD 'How to Write Any Book

in 28 Days' and Chris Baty's book No Plot, No Problem make similar claims (see References, Further reading and Useful

addresses and websites).

Find new ways

Whether you are doing timed writing, taking notes or

first-drafting, writing in a linear way from left to right is only one of

11

many choices Try writing round the edges, starting in the middle,writing in columns, spirals, flower-shapes - whatever takes yourfancy I find linear note-taking of little use for recovering

information afterwards

I prefer to 'chunk' my thoughts (see Figure 1) so that they leap offthe page, demanding my attention I draw a shape around eachchunk as I write, to keep them separate (The doodles come laterwhen I am thinking.) I also like to organise my writer's notebook

in this way When I scatter snatches of conversation, description,and general musings around the page, I find they come together inways I might not have thought of if I had used linear jotting

I find coloured paper and pens useful - and fun They alleviateboredom, evoke a particular mood, and help me organise mythoughts

Checklist

Set a time and keep to it

Decide how you want to position the words on the page.Choose a starting sentence and return to it if stuck

Don't stop until the time is up

Don't think, cross out, rewrite - just do it

Try a workbook or some software for a change of approach

Timed writing as a daily practice

Many writers, whatever their situation, find daily timed writinguseful If short of time, it can help bypass any panic engendered

by a blank sheet of paper and a ticking clock When time is not a

problem, it can help combat that perverse ailment, don't want to

start Having moved mountains to clear a day - or a life - in

which to write, some of us are suddenly afflicted with a paralysing

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

Fig 1 'Chunked' notes from a story-telling workshop.

13

torpor This can be because self-motivation is new to us (see

Organising your work time below) or because of self-doubt (see Writing and your identity below) Timed writing cuts through both

by a) giving us something definite to do and b) setting no

standards

Try: 'I am now going to write as badly as I can for ten minutes.'

Timed writing also clears mental 'dross' so that the good stuff canstart to flow - like priming a pump It is the equivalent of aperformer's or athlete's warm-up exercises It can also producesomething amazing in its own right

Keep a notebook by your bed and do your timed writing beforeeven getting up This is an excellent way to kick-start your writingday

WRITING AND YOUR LIFESTYLE

'To nurture your talent requires considerable discipline, forthere are many other good things you will not have time to do

if you are serious about your creativity.'

(Marilee Zedenek: The Right Brain Experience.}

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

There are also many not-so-good things which you will not havetime to do - or may feel forced to do instead It's amazing howcompelling the laundry or this year's first cleaning of the car canfeel when you're having trouble with starting your writing project

CASE STUDY

Sheila, one of my older students, felt she had hit a long-term 'creative low' She had written with some success in the past, having had several stories published in women's magazines, and a play accepted for radio although it

was never performed.

She wanted to write again, but found her days too broken up with various activities to really marshal her thoughts She told me that since her children had left home, there seemed to be increasing demands on her time.

It transpired she was a school governor, served on three committees, sang in

a choir, and did volunteer work in a hospital Smiling, she admitted that much

of this frantic activity was probably a response to the 'empty nest' syndrome Then she said that recently she had begun to wonder whether she was also using it to avoiding writing in case she could no longer do it well enough.

How important is writing to you?

List all your current projects and activities Rate the significance

of each one on a scale of 1-10, then list them again in order ofimportance

Where does writing come on this list?

How does this affect the way you feel about your workspaceand work time?

15

Organise your workspace

Do you need silence or do you, as Peter Ustinov did, find itunbearable? Do you need to be free from distractions, or can youwork at the kitchen table while your two-year-old plays footballwith the saucepans? Do you need everything neatly labelled andfiled, or do you prefer cheerful clutter? How important is thedecor?

Take a few moments to imagine your ideal workspace - norestrictions

Make this workspace the subject of a five-minute timed

Claim your territory

You may have to share this space with others How protective doyou feel about the area or areas you use?

How do you mark your boundaries so that others do notencroach on them?

Are you clear about your needs for space and privacy?

How assertive are you in defending these needs?

For many of us this territorial aspect of the workspace is veryimportant, and needs addressing Having to worry that papersmight be moved, read, damaged - even accidentally thrown away,

is a most unwelcome distraction

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

If you have your own work room, are you making full use of thefreedom this allows you? Has it occurred to you that you can do

anything you like in there? For example, writing on the walls and

ceiling can be very liberating - perhaps chunking ideas (as inFigure 1) The result feels amazing - like sitting inside your ownbrain

Take a few moments to think about ways of using your spacemore creatively

Write a list of the things you will do to bring this about

Take action

Go walkabout

Having organised your workspace and settled in, make sure itdoes not eventually become a new rut Try working somewhereelse occasionally - a change of scene can help ideas to flow Even

a different part of the house can feel surprisingly adventurouswhen you have got used to one particular location

If you really want to trigger your imagination, try some of theplaces you chose in childhood - behind the sofa, in a wardrobe, inthe cupboard under the stairs (Does this sound like a daft idea?Would it help to know that at least two well-known and respectedauthors write underneath their dining room tables?) In an article

called 'Where I Like to Write' (Author's Copyright and Lending

Society News, February 2005) author Carol Lee describes sitting

on a polishing box by the fire when writing in her childhoodhome She emphasises the importance to her of finding just theright place

17

Karen used to write in the garden shed when she was a child, and has done

so again on several occasions, to very good advantage She says that being

playful in this way really boosts her creativity

'People try to become everything except a song They want tobecome rich, powerful, famous But - they lose all qualitiesthat can make their life joyous; they lose all cheerfulness, theybecome serious.'

(Osho Morning Contemplation)

Wanting to be somewhere else

Do you sometimes feel you need to be somewhere else entirely then if you manage to get there, find it is not right either? Doesisolation make you long for company and vice versa? Do you rent

-a cott-age by the se-a, -and end up writing in -a c-afe in the centre oftown? 'I thought it was only me!' other writers will probably say ifyou ever confess It is very likely that this yearning for something

we cannot have, is a necessary part of the creative process Once,when writing a certain story, I felt compelled to stay in a seasideboarding house up north, in winter The arrangements I had tomake in order to do so were considerable I stuck it for just oneday Now I use my imagination to go where I yearn to go This isquicker, cheaper and far less disappointing

Organise your work time

Does your time feel as though it is structured for you, or do youset your own schedule? We have seen how timed writing can help

in both situations We have also looked at scheduling a writingday around regular breaks If you are used to working for

someone else, both self-motivation and time-management may feeldifficult at first The leisure-time writing habit may also be difficult

in some way Those around you will need to know any 'rules' thatapply to your writing time If you live alone, make your writinghours known to friends, neighbours or anyone else who might callround Let the answering machine take all your calls Place a 'donot disturb' notice on the front door if necessary.

Think about any areas of tension affecting your writing time.How can you reduce these?

Do a five-minute timed writing about the steps you will take toachieve this

Take action

Research

Does your schedule allow plenty of time for any research you need

to do? How do you feel about research? It need not mean hoursspent in the library Active research, immersing yourself in theplace where your story is to be set, is likely to be more enjoyableand will help you to bring the setting to life for your readers.Novelist Marjorie Darke recommends conversing with 'anyone inthe locality who can increase my background knowledge.' She alsoaims to share as many of her characters' experiences as possible

While researching Ride the Iron Horse, for example, she took part

in a traction engine race Similarly Peter Vincent spent many

hours as a leisure centre user while doing initial research for The

Brittas Empire, and Canadian writer Jo Davis thoroughly

19

indulged her passion for trains while working on Not a

Sentimental Journey.

Novelist Alison Harding describes research as 'a sort of radar thatpicks up on things you need to know and draws your attention tothem' This radar also seems to work subliminally Alison, incommon with a number of writers, has often had the experience

of inventing a happening in relation to a certain place, researchingthe location and finding that a similar event actually occurredthere I have several times invented a name for a character andhad someone of that name enter my life shortly afterwards

Reading

Make sure your schedule also includes plenty of time for reading

- particularly the type of material you like to write In order to bepart of the 'writing world', you need to know what is happening

in your chosen field What appeals to you? What is selling? Who ispublishing it? A particular joy of being a writer is that you canfeel positively virtuous about being an obsessive reader

Checklist

What do you need in terms of time and space for writing?How can you best get these needs met?

How will you make this clear to those around you?

What role might your imagination play?

Have you allowed plenty of time for reading and other

research?

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

CASE STUDY

Another student, David, joined one of my classes when he was made redundant from his job as office manager He had always wanted to write a crime novel, and decided to make positive use of his time at home to do so.

He organised his writing day with as much care and precision as he used in running his office He realised the importance of reading novels in his chosen genre, and set aside a regular time slot for this He also allowed plenty of time for research He was not too sure about things like pilates and writing in cupboards, but could see the value of a good health programme Having set himself up with such meticulous care, he was surprised and quite discouraged, at the difficulty he found in getting started He says that timed writing - of which he was extrememly sceptical at first - has been a huge help in this respect David's novel is still 'in embryo' but, with the help of the exercises in this book, he has written two prize-winning short stories

meanwhile.

Stay in touch with the rest of the world

One of writing's many paradoxes is that it is an isolated activitythrough which we reach out to others It is a way of making ourvoice heard in the world So how might the other half of thatdialogue be conducted? Joining a group or a class is one verygood way Becoming an active member of some of the many

writers' websites (see Useful addresses and websites) is another

excellent way (but beware, this can also become very distracting!).Reading the papers, watching the news, and conversing with avariety of people can also be helpful

Do you read your first drafts to other people and value theirresponse - or do you prefer to internalise the energy at this earlystage?

21

Whatever your choice, the most important question is does it work for youl

YOUR WRITER'S TOOL KIT

Essential items

Look at - or imagine, your workspace List the things you simplycould not do without Is yours a Zen-like existence - just a padand pencil, or is your room overflowing? Would you like to add ordiscard things, or is it fine the way it is?

How do you feel about the theory that our surroundings reflectour inner state? Does a crowded work-space necessarily mean thatour brain is 'cluttered'? Perhaps your brain is more like a back-pack than an orderly bookshelf Think of it as overflowing withuseful things which you can grab when you want them If you arenot happy with the contents of your workspace (or your back-pack) list those things again in order of priority and see whetheryou can discard some Or do you need to acquire more? If thelatter, read on Otherwise skip the next two sections - you might

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

For PC users, a voice-operated word processor as an

alternative to the above

A large clock and a timer with an audible signal

Kettle, cup, tea, etc - leaving the room to make drinks can bedistracting

Answering machine and/or fax

Treats

These are important Here are a few suggestions

Aromatherapy oils in a burner or applied (suitably diluted) tothe skin Try: pine for inspiration, sage for opening to thesubconscious, lavender, camomile and rose to relax, grapefruit

to wake up, geranium to stimulate dreams

For a wonderful 'quick-fix', place a drop of oil on the centre ofeach palm, rub them together vigorously, then cup your handsover your nose and inhale deeply (many thanks to

aromatherapist Ruth Wise for that idea)

You might prefer to reward yourself with a large bar of

chocolate, kept by a partner or friend and delivered at a

specific time - with a cup of tea perhaps Or a long soak in thebath might be more your style

How about a large comfy chair to snuggle into for drafting or reading, with your favourite music close at hand?

hand-Items for writing 'the right brain way'

The uses for these will be explained in subsequent chapters

tarot cards in your preferred style and tradition

a collection of beautiful objects and pictures

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coloured pens and papers

mirror

magnifying glass, binoculars

tape recorder

small dictionary

basic astrology text or programme (optional)

WRITING AND YOUR IDENTITY

Invent yourself as a writer

Your writing self may well express an aspect of your personalitywhich is normally hidden from the world Perhaps you have ahigh-powered job which requires you to be very 'left-brain', whileyour writing self is poetic and vulnerable Or the reverse - youwrite horror, crime or erotic fiction and teach infants by day.Perhaps you write as a person of the opposite gender If you write

in a variety of genres, you may have several writing selves

In order to manage any tension between these different facets ofyourself, or to prevent one popping out at an inappropriate time,try 'fleshing them out', much as you would your fictional

characters Make them the subject of timed writing or a completeplay or short story Perhaps one of the functions of pen-names is

to allow the writing self (or selves) and the everyday self to leadseparate lives In that case a writing self might benefit from theconstruction of his or her full autobiography

Value yourself and your writing

How do you feel about writing as an occupation or pass-time?When you talk about it, do you feel proud - or embarrassed? Doyou use the words "only' or 'just' when you describe your work?

Do you call it 'scribbling'? Do you think of writing as a worthypursuit or, if you are a professional, as a 'proper' job? Do you feel

W R I T I N G - A W A Y O F L I F E

justified in claiming time and space to do it? How do you feelabout the writing you produce? Are you confident enough tosubmit it to publishers?

How do you cope with rejection letters? Have feelings aboutyourself as a writer affected your attitude to any of the

suggestions in this chapter? For example, do you feel it is worthfollowing the physical programme, setting up a workspace,

claiming time, collecting a 'tool kit'? Are other things/otherpeople 'more important?' Do you feel you are kidding yourselfthat you can do this?

It may be a while before you can give positive answers to thesequestions and really mean it - but, with perseverance it happens

An 'invented self can be a huge help in this respect A self that isfeeling positive and strong can give the less confident one a pep-talk

A supportive attitude from those close to you is also invaluable Afriend at the beginning of her writing career heard her husbandtell a caller, 'My wife is a writer and cannot be disturbed.' Shefelt she could do anything after that

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Tune In

As writers we need to fine-tune our senses to both our inner andour outer worlds Whether we are observing people, objects,locations or situations, an important part of the process is paying

close attention to what is happening within ourselves as we do so.

Our inner experience of the world is what we communicate toothers in our writing, so it is extremely important to be aware ofourselves and our feelings in relation to any aspect of the

environment we wish to explore

TO YOURSELF

The following exercises will help you to develop this vital skill Togain the maximum benefit, they should be done in a completelyrelaxed state, with your eyes closed As with all the visualisationexercises in this book, the instructions should be read onto a tapewith sufficient pauses where necessary to allow the experience tounfold Settle yourself somewhere comfortable where you will not

be disturbed, before you play back the tape

Would you like to change the image in any way? If so, makethose changes.

How do you feel about the image now?

Tune in physically

Allow one hand to explore the other - slowly, carefully, asthough it were an unfamiliar object Notice the tempera-ture, the texture, the different shapes

Which hand is doing the exploring? How does it feel in thatexploring role?

Transfer your attention now to the hand that is beingexplored How does that feel? Focus on those feelings aboutbeing explored

Change the roles over How does each hand feel now?

If your right hand had a voice, what would it sound like?What would it say?

Give your left hand a voice What sort of voice is it? Whatdoes it say?

Let your hands talk to each other for a while

Open your eyes Record your experiences

Did it feel strange to focus on yourself in that way? Somepeople find it makes them uneasy at first They may even findthemselves getting angry

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CASE STUDY

David, one of my more 'down-to-earth' students, had this reaction He felt quite foolish about exploring his feelings and the first time he tried to write about himself with his left hand, he threw down the pen in frustration.

Other students have found the experience liberating Sheila said she wished

she had known earlier about this way of working.

Whatever your reaction to these tuning-in exercises, do persevere.Focusing on the self is an important habit for a writer to develop.Feelings about ourselves often influence our treatment of

characters See what links you notice in this respect after

completing the next exercise

Tune in to your self-image

Do this quickly, with as little thought as possible

Write the numbers 1-10 underneath each other 'shoppinglist' style

Beside each number write one word which describes you

Put this list aside and forget it by doing something else for

ten minutes

10 minute break Now, on a fresh sheet of paper, write the numbers 1-10again

-With your other hand write ten words which describe you.

Compare the two lists

What did you discover in comparing lists? Were some wordspositive and some negative? Did you contradict yourself, even

in the same list? Did the lists reflect different, perhaps

contradictory, aspects of your personality?

T U N E I N

Tune in to an internal dialogue

Writing with each hand in turn, set up a dialogue aboutyourself

Ask questions about any aspects of your life that have beenpuzzling or annoying you Let one hand ask and the otherone answer

Discover the critic within

Writing with the non-dominant hand, as we did in the last twoexercises, puts us in the 'child place' It can bring up feelings ofvulnerability and frustration, making us impatient with ourselves

We may find ourselves thinking that exercises like this are justgimmicks or tricks which cannot produce anything 'truly

creative' Such reactions are often due to unhelpful messages wereceived about ourselves in childhood - messages which havestuck and which cause us to criticise ourselves today

Once we recognise these 'old tapes' for what they are, we can

learn to turn them off 'No thank you.' 'What's your problem?' or

simply 'Shut up!' are some of the more polite ways of dealing withthese internal voices Whose voices are they? If you can trace suchmessages to a specific individual or individuals, going back inyour imagination and delivering the 'shut up' message personallycan be a very liberating experience

CASE STUDY

When David finally got in touch with his internal critic, he began to understand where his earlier feelings of frustration came from, and he decided to persevere with the exercises - for a while, at least.

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